I just found out this morning that Cooky passed away on June 1st. The last time I spoke with him, he'd had a stroke and was dealing with that, on top of his other health issues.
Cooky was an interesting fellow, and always up for a caching adventure, no matter how tough the terrain or the hide!
Obituary_________________"We never seek things for themselves-what we seek is the very seeking of things"-Pascal

Besides the Garden Island trip MNMizzou mentioned, Cookie also joined the BWCA trip back in 2010. He was definitely a fun factor on that trip. You might catch a glimpse of him in my pictures from that trip:

Oh I liked Cooky. Thanks Red for passing the info along. I remember caching many times with Cooky and many WNC's with him. In fact he was at my very first WNC where we were caught in a torrential thunderstorm and, strangely, the group of about 8 pressed on finding caches. We had so much fun that night, and I think it sealed my interest in the social part of caching. He mentioned to me once early in my caching career not to become a numbers hound (he may have said he regrettably was one) . I tried to take that to heart. For many Falls, Cooky would bring apples to WNC or other events, and I even baked things and "returned" the apples to him. I met his Mom who also seemed like a nice lady. I haven't seen Cooky in awhile and have missed him. I will continue to miss him. Watch over us all Cooky.

I really enjoyed working with Cooky on the Gooseberry event a few years back...he was a really cool guy._________________Effective parks and recreation facilities do not just happen on their own. They require professional care and financial support to keep them clean, safe and suitable for the community they serve.

This is very sad news! Cooky has always been an iconic geocacher for me and my family. For over eight years, Oneied Cooky has held a couple of special quirks of caching for me. One, until today, I never knew his real name (purposely tried to keep that unknown, fun but tough thing to do over eight years). Dale? Nope, it will always be Cooky to me! Another fun thing about Cooky is his unique name that will continue to be a humorous part of conversations with newbies. When our family talks to newbies about caching, we always reference the fun names of our friends, and always we start with "Oneied Cooky and Moe The Sleaze". These fun names usually peaks the interest of the newbs and gets them thinking of what kind of fun names they could come up with for themselves.

Cooky, for as gruff as he would try to portray at times, if you knew him, he was truly a caring, giving and fun guy who will be missed. RIP!_________________"There is a pleasure in the pathless woods..." - Lord Byron

It is sad to learn that Cooky has passed away. He was always fun and interesting guy to talk to. We mainly met him at events or at an occasional WNC. I will always remember him telling me and my wife the story of his experience at the Canadian border. Cooky would sometimes bring his mother to events years ago, and my wife really enjoyed visiting with her. RIP Cooky.

I do have Cooky's mother's address, if anyone else is interested in sending her a card. Send me an IM._________________"We never seek things for themselves-what we seek is the very seeking of things"-Pascal